University of Texas fires AD Steve Patterson

Updated 7:25 pm, Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Texas athletic director Steve Patterson during a news conference where Charlie Strong was introduce at the new Texas football coach,Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Texas athletic director Steve Patterson during a news conference where Charlie Strong was introduce at the new Texas football coach,Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Photo: Eric Gay, Associated Press

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AUSTIN, TX - JANUARY 6: University of Texas president Bill Powers, left and athletic director Steve Patterson, right, introduce new Longhorns head football coach Charlie Strong from Louisville during a press conference January 6, 2014 at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. less

AUSTIN, TX - JANUARY 6: University of Texas president Bill Powers, left and athletic director Steve Patterson, right, introduce new Longhorns head football coach Charlie Strong from Louisville during a press ... more

Photo: Erich Schlegel, Getty Images

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New Texas football Charlie Strong, left, poses for a photo with athletic director Steve Patterson, right, both displaying the "Hook 'em Horns" sign, following an NCAA college news conference announcing Strong's hire, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Austin, Texas. Strong replaces Mack Brown, who coached Texas for 16 years and won the 2005 national championship. Strong spent the previous four years at Louisville. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) less

New Texas football Charlie Strong, left, poses for a photo with athletic director Steve Patterson, right, both displaying the "Hook 'em Horns" sign, following an NCAA college news conference announcing Strong's ... more

Photo: Eric Gay, Associated Press

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New athletic director Steve Patterson would like to see a UT football game in Mexico.

New athletic director Steve Patterson would like to see a UT football game in Mexico.

Photo: Jack Plunkett, FRE

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Steve Patterson, University of Texas athletics director﻿, ﻿says universities have to "think like the pros" to generate the revenue that helps pay for facilities, training, health care and nutrition.

Steve Patterson, University of Texas athletics director﻿, ﻿says universities have to "think like the pros" to generate the revenue that helps pay for facilities, training, health care and nutrition.

Photo: Bob Owen, Staff

University of Texas fires AD Steve Patterson

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AUSTIN – For much of Steve Patterson’s 22-month reign atop one of the wealthiest programs in college sports, Texas’ alumni, fans and influential donors complained about how he failed to connect with those around him.

Ultimately, what little connection he had left was severed altogether.

UT president Greg Fenves confirmed Tuesday that Patterson was out as men’s athletic director, describing it as a “mutually agreed upon decision” for Patterson to step down.

Multiple UT sources said Patterson’s resignation was forced, in the same way several other high-profile Longhorns officials – including the previous athletic director, football coach, men’s basketball coach and school president – were pushed out in recent years.

Patterson’s guaranteed contract ran through August 2019 at $1.4 million per year, but Fenves said the school and Patterson negotiated a separation deal for less than that amount. He did not divulge the details of that agreement, which requires approval from UT’s board of regents.

Fenves said there was “no one reason” for Patterson’s departure, but said he’d heard from “hundreds, if not thousands” of alumni who weighed in on the topic.

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“This has been a decision that’s been building over recent weeks,” Fenves said. “If I was going to put it in a nutshell, we’re concerned about our fans and how they view the overall program.”

In a statement released by UT, Patterson said he was proud of what he accomplished with the Longhorns but had agreed to resign “after considerable discussion.”

Patterson did not return phone messages Tuesday.

Mike Perrin, a Houston attorney who played linebacker at UT in the 1960s and was later inducted into the school’s Hall of Honor, was appointed by Fenves to serve as interim athletic director until a permanent replacement is hired.

Fenves said Perrin agreed to a deal that runs through August 2016, and will pay him $750,000. The president said he sees no need to rush into hiring a permanent athletic director, and said the timing for doing so is “undetermined.”

When he was hired in November 2013, Patterson took control of the nation’s wealthiest athletic department at a time when both of its major programs – football and men’s basketball – were struggling under longtime coaches.

To replace Mack Brown and Rick Barnes, Patterson made two hires – Charlie Strong and Shaka Smart – that were widely praised. They also became the first black head coaches of a men’s program in UT history.

He often spoke of expanding the reach of the Longhorns’ brand, scheduling a basketball game in Shanghai, China, this fall, and expressing a desire to have the Longhorns play football in Mexico City.

But he received near-constant criticism for the decisions he made closer to home. He raised ticket prices at Royal-Memorial Stadium by an average of 6 percent after the Longhorns slumped to a losing record last year. He also instituted new charges for parking, and a donation-based points system for tickets that some fans said made their seats unaffordable.

One anecdote from a prominent alumnus summed up his reticence to embrace key members of the UT community. About a year into his tenure Patterson walked past the man sitting near the court at the Erwin Center for a Longhorns’ basketball game.

The man had donated more than $1 million to the university, and had met Patterson at multiple UT events and fundraisers. He said this time, when Patterson didn’t acknowledge him, he turned to another UT graduate who’d also dealt with the athletic director.

“I can’t wait for the day he calls me by name and shakes my hand,” the donor remembers saying.

“You’re going to be waiting a long time for that,” his fellow alum answered.

Meanwhile, athletic department employees said his management style – which one longtime staffer described as “aloof” – lowered morale and prompted numerous departures.

Longtime football sports information director John Bianco, whom Strong called one of his most trusted confidantes at UT, was given five minutes to clean out his desk and leave his office. Later in the summer, Longhorn Foundation fundraiser David Onion was forced out as well.

After Bianco was let go, four other members of UT’s sports information department left voluntarily, cutting the size of the staff in half. One frustrated department employee who remained at UT said the familial environment created by former athletic director DeLoss Dodds had been largely abandoned.

Although he arrived at UT after serving as athletic director at Arizona State, most of Patterson’s background was in professional sports, having worked in management for the NBA’s Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers and the NFL’s Houston Texans.

Patterson’s successor will have no shortage of issues on his plate. The Longhorns’ conference, the Big 12, faces questions about whether or not it should expand to remain competitive in the College Football Playoff era. UT also is looking to build a new arena to replace the Erwin Center, which officials have said will need to be torn down to make room for medical-school expansion.

Within the next year, UT will negotiate a new apparel and licensing deal many expect to compete with Michigan’s recent $169-million contract with Nike. And there’s still the pressing matter of Oklahoma State’s lawsuit against assistant football coach Joe Wickline, who OSU claims owes almost $600,000 under the terms of his contract buyout.

When asked why UT didn’t settle that suit on behalf of Wickline, Patterson repeatedly dismissed such questions by saying the Longhorns weren’t a party to the legal matter. That approach did little to improve his relationship with UT’s coaches, who recently had been forced to pay for dining-hall meals they previously received for free.

Patterson never enjoyed much popularity. Last week, before the Longhorns’ home football opener at Royal-Memorial Stadium, an airplane flew overhead towing a banner reading, “PATTERSON MUST GO.”